~ Hi there! On HGTV's Hit Reality TV Show DESIGN STAR, I sewed, painted & sawed my way through some pretty tough challenges, but design doesn't have to be hard! I believe in combining simple, timeless design ingredients to create what I call "Design Recipes". I hope you find this to be a truly awesome resource. www.design-recipes.com contains design tips, articles, podcasts, how-to videos and of course design recipes galore! I invented Design Recipes simply because I love sharing my ideas! For years I collected design magazines, tagged and clipped pages with inspirational images & did nothing! That's because I didn't have the resource information so I could purchase the beautiful furniture I was seeing on the pages of the magazines! With Design Recipes, I SHARE how the room was executed, giving you the basic design tools needed for you to recreate the same look on your own and best of all I give you all of the resource information! Enjoy!

Your bedroom should be a peaceful place that promotes relaxation and sleep. It sounds like a no-brainer, but many people also use this space for work, watching TV, surfing the internet and even exercising! With this in mind, it’s important to consider how the setup and décor in your bedroom affects how it is used – which in turn could compromise how well you are able to sleep. Try these tips to maximize the amount of relaxation your bedroom can bring:

1. Embrace soft colors. While busy patterns and bold color schemes are stylish, they can be so visually stimulating that they may interfere with your ability to sleep. Cool colors such as soft blues, greens and purples have been said to promote tranquility and calmness.

2. Divide your room into sections. The bed should be the primary focus of the room, but if you’ve got the space to do so, also reserve a section near the closet for wardrobes and dressers, and another section for a sitting area or reading nook. Having a place to sit and unwind is a great way to relax before hopping into bed.

3. Remove distractions. Keeping your laptop on a desk in your bedroom is an easy way to invite stress in. If it’s out of sight, you won’t be as tempted to check those work e-mails while lying in bed. Remove anything that doesn’t maintain an air of peacefulness.